Fruits of Irvine Co.'s labor

Shortly after 7 a.m. in March, Jose Ramirez, 30, of Santa Ana, begins his eight-hour shift picking avocados. The grove is among the 1,100 acres of avocado trees owned and grown by the Irvine Co.MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Before a chip hits that smooth or chunky dip, some of the tens of millions of pounds of avocados infused in guacamole consumed for Cinco de Mayo celebrations might have gotten a start in the hills above Irvine.

And like a lot of things in the city, the avocados – grown and harvested on 1,100 acres -- are a product of the Irvine Co.

The company has been growing Hass variety of avocados since the 1940s and 1950s and in earnest since the 1970s and has generally made a profit thanks in part to a couple of advantages: water prices haven't been as bad as in other Southern California avocado growing regions and, perhaps most advantageous, the company owns the land.

Irvine and the company have a storied soil-rich past. When crops like citrus in the flatter parts of the region became unprofitable and in the way of development, avocados in the hills remained and ultimately took on an "economic life" of their own, he said.

The man representing the company's crop interests at board meetings is Pete Changala, vice president of agriculture, who is usually more comfortable than most of the other suited directors of office, retail, residential divisions, etc., fashionably speaking, in grove appropriate attire of work boots and a button down shirt.

He's aware that his division is small by comparison, but every once in awhile – perhaps because everyone has gotten so used to the apartments, the stores, the homes and offices, so much so that "it almost becomes invisible because you see it everyday" – the company's crops garner a little more attention, he said.

The company harvests about 10 million pounds of the fruit annually, on average.

It remains one of the largest avocado groves in the state and is, easily, the largest in Orange County. As to whether it remains as such is less affected by development and more by other factors.

"Development's not the issue," he said. Labor costs, water costs and regulations are.

But he also doesn't wax nostalgic about crop land ceding ground to development.

The Irvine-area native remembers when he was 11, growing up on the then Irvine Ranch, riding in a tractor down what's now a main thoroughfare between homes and high-tech businesses along Irvine Center Drive.

Now, he said he's glad to have a part in what's left of Irvine's agriculture.

With the start of the harvest in March, Changala could tell the company's trees were stressed. There hadn't been a lot of rain coupled with some particularly windy and cool days, "and the trees kind of show it."

Nonetheless, the company expects a good-sized crop this year, and the hills have proven an ideal spot to grow the integral guacamole ingredient because it's not too cold and not too warm.

Avocado groves on sprawling Rancho Mission Viejo land, likely the second largest grower in the county, take up less than 100 acres.

There are agriculture and produce stands, and crops grown by OC Produce and Tanaka Farms on leased land among others in the city, but the majority of commercial farming has moved north of Los Angeles.

Eventually, the Irvine Co. will build out the hillsides, too, but it expects to preserve some 750 acres of working avocado groves that would be among the backyards, of sorts, of future homes to be built in the company's Orchard Hills development.

Shortly after 7 a.m. in March, Jose Ramirez, 30, of Santa Ana, begins his eight-hour shift picking avocados. The grove is among the 1,100 acres of avocado trees owned and grown by the Irvine Co. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ubaldo Manuel, 28, of Santa Ana, right, and Carlos Manuel, 20, of Garden Grove, pick avocados in a grove owned by the Irvine Co. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Julio Manuel, 24, of Santa Ana uses a special picking arm to pluck avocado from trees owned and managed by the Irvine Co. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Julio Manuel, 24, of Santa Ana climbs to the top of a ladder to reach the avocados hanging from the highest branches. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ubaldo Manuel, 28, of Santa Ana uses a pair of clippers to snip off the stems of each avocado that he picks. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Julio Manuel, 24, of Santa Ana prepares to unload a bag that can hold approximately 50 pounds of avocados into a large collection bin. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Javier Tirejo, 27, Santa Ana props a ladder against the side of a tree to reach the avocados that hang on the outside of the top branches. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Javier Tirejo, 27, Santa Ana holds onto a branch while he stretches to reach a lone avocado. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
After he finishes picking, Javier Tirejo, 27, Santa Ana, takes one last look around the tree to make sure that he didn't miss any avocados. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Irvine Co. grows Hass avocados, which are popular among growers for their long shelf-life and high-yeild. In an average year, the avocado groves in Irvine produce approximately 7,500 pounds of fruit per acre. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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